UMaine News

Jim Dill speaks with WABI about possibility of bugs in Christmas trees

Jim Dill, a pest management specialist with University of Maine Cooperative, spoke with WABI (Channel 5) for a report about the possibility of bringing ticks or other insects into your home on a Christmas tree. “Getting a Christmas tree at a Christmas tree farm or a roadside operation should not have any concerns to an individual about bringing ticks in with the tree,” Dill said. With the recent temperatures dropping below freezing at night, ticks are not going to be active now, and they don’t live where Christmas trees are grown, WABI reported. While deer ticks are not likely to be on your tree, that doesn’t mean you might not find some other harmless bugs among the branches, the report states. “The thing that we usually see coming in with Christmas trees are little spiders,” Dill said, adding it’s not hundreds, but usually two to four little spiders or an aphid. “There’s nothing there that we’re aware of in this state that is going to be coming off in your Christmas tree that’s going to cause you any real concern in your home,” Dill said.